Columbus, Ohio: fun and food for couples

BALTIMORE, Md August 0, 2011—Columbus, Ohio is a destination with a vibrant, young feeling.

With a mix of charming and funky neighborhoods, things to do, and lots of top-notch eateries, there’s something for every kind of couple traveling for leisure. Columbus also has developed as an epicenter for foodies, with prime local ingredients and artisan crafters making the city their home.

The Lofts provide a luxury boutique hotel experience convenient to just about everything in the city. The rooms are huge, like modern loft apartments, with that cutting edge urban-industrial feeling. They feature pillow-top mattresses, Italian Frette linens, and access to an indoor pool. The Lofts are located across the street from the convention center.

Shop interesting little boutiques in the German Village neighborhood: the block-long Book Loft, Caterina with its unique European housewares, and the Golden Hobby Shop, selling hand-made creations by senior citizens.

When the Ohio State Buckeyes play football, the whole city bleeds scarlet and gray. Tickets are notoriously hard to come by, but it’s certainly the epicenter for the biggest party in town.

Schmidt’s Sausage Haus und Restaurant has been family-owned for decades and is ultra-ultra popular with locals and visitors alike: be prepared to wait. You can go light with crispy, hand-made schnitzel set on fresh greens or richer with sausage-sauerkraut balls served with German mustard. During the evening, you’ll find local and German style live bands playing.

Lindey’s is a chic, upscale place where the city’s movers and shakers definitely go to see and be seen. Whether you dine inside the private club-like décor or outside with the European style bar and fountains, you’ll be in the capable hands of a family who’s been in the restaurant biz for decades. While I hear that not many people indulge in the house-made charcuterie plate, it’s a secret treasure. Maybe folks are intimidated by the generous size – definitely enough for at least two. The meats are excellent: rich and flavorful, not gamy. It had a touch of smokiness to it and was thinly sliced – enhancing its melt-in-the-mouth qualities. The pork pate’ had crushed pistachios. The chef clearly had a great sense of how flavors work together.

The Franklin Park Conservatory – a gorgeous conservatory located in a neighborhood with stunning architecture – has all kinds of events designed to appeal to foodies. Along with special farm to table dinners, they’ve got scheduled a Global Garden cooking series, Market Days, Harvest Thursdays, Food Truck Sunday, Flavors of Local, Live Fire Sundays,  Community Garden Campus tours, and a Food For Thought lecture series.

Surly Girl Saloon has a cowgirl, badass but grownup vibe, and the food is good. The menus are hand-tooled leather. The menu is described as “Southwestern comfort, but with upscale twists”: you’re not going to see burgers. However, you’ll find nachos with all kinds of things you can add to them, including chorizo sausage. Surly Girl infuses locally crafted OYO vodka with natural ingredients for seasonal flavors. Try the posole, a menudo-like pork stew with hominy, crisp veggies, and lime. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you’ll find lots of options on the menu as well.

One of Columbus’ restaurants is about as secret – and cherished by locals – as a speakeasy:  Basi-Italia. Located in an alley of a quiet residential neighborhood, the restaurant has the feeling of a private party.  Eat in the courtyard; you’ll feel like you’re at a garden get-together. Diners start with house-made warm rosemary cheese bread sticks. A must-order is the Parmesan Crème Brulee’ first course. It’s a sweet, buttery crème brulee with fresh, savory herbs and flatbreads.

Le Chocoholique in Columbus’s Short North neighborhood is great in person — get yourself a frozen chocolate drink — or indulge in a chocolate/wine/cheese tasting. Try the “Rosy Posey”, with a deep chocolate and red rose water flavor, covered in a crystallized sugar coat.

Pistacia Vera serves in a bright cafe’ atmosphere some of the most exquisite macarons and sweets — as written about in Destinations Magazine — in the world. Order a chocolate or mocha drink made with Valrhona chocolate. Their sweets are in-demand by some of the toniest party throwers. The U.S no longer has a Fauchon’s, but don’t fret: Pistacia Vera’s pates de fruits come in the juiciest, most sophisticated flavors. Pistacia Vera’s macarons are made in eye-popping, decorative colors. They’re rich, yet delicate, with great texture. Their orange brioche, with its rock sugar coat and subtle flavor, would be a perfect foil for fois gras.

Middle West Spirits’ OYO Vodka, Honey Vanilla Bean Vodka, and Whiskey are truly artisan creations with a quest for flavor. I always heard that Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is the best vanilla, but the finest actually comes from Uganda. Middle West Spirits braves the political turmoil to support a woman farmer who grows the creme de la creme. They also use 100% Ohio red winter wheat hand-picked from certain farms for their spirits. The rich honey comes from Lancaster, Ohio.

Head to the awesome North Market for ingredients from North Market Poultry and Game. You’ll no doubt stop at some of the other purveyors, selecting from local creameries, green grocers, breads, mouth-watering pastas, authentic ethnic foods, ice cream, corn meal pizza crust beloved by Anthony Bourdain, as well as other delectables

Then, be prepared to be wowed by the fresh-never-frozen, mostly grass-fed and free-range organic chicken, bison, turkey, pheasant, rabbit, elk, drakes, ducks, Muscovy ducks (which are from warmer waters and thus less fatty and thinner skinned), venison, and more from small local farms. Their cooked food side, Kitchen Little, makes a scrumptious cassoulet with ducks, wild boar bacon, roasted turkey, chicken, and white beans. You’ll find local cheddar and Gruyere, as well as Snowville cream in their insanely good mac & cheese.

Bon Appetit magazine named Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams one of the top 10 in the US. They know you’ll be thrown in a tizzy trying to pick out one of the exotic flavors, such as sweet corn-blackberry, so they are generous with samples. The ice cream is made from milk and cream from one hand-selected farm, Snowville. Try your hand at making your own, Jeni-style, with her new cookbook.